Saturday, July 6, 2013

Live at the El

By Chet Williamson

The original El Morocco on Wall Street

To say it
was a legendary place would only reduce it to a cliché. It was more than that.
It was a dream.

For the
many musicians who worked the room and the fans who witnessed their artistry in
action, it was a jazz Mecca personified. The dream not only lives
in the collective memory of all involved, fortunately, many of the nights have
been captured through the magic of recording. Some have been released
commercially, some in the form of bootleg tapes, and still others in private
collections only shared among the fortunate few.

The new building, when it was relocated across the street from the original

The
intent of this piece is to shed some light on what’s been documented out there, explore
the sound, and dig up the many layers of pavement on old memory lane.

The
earliest recording is one of the finest. Recorded live at the El in 1980, it’s
called Herb Pomeroy: Pramlatta’s Hips.
It was produced by longtime Boston radio host Ron Della Chiesa for
the Shiah label.

Marc
Myers, a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal and author of Why Jazz Happened, has written widely on
the subject.

What’s in
a name? He asked trombonist Hal Crook, the composer of the piece,
“Pramlatta’s Hips.” "If I recall, back in the mid-1970s, I was reading a
book written by a yogi and there was a story in it about this beautiful Indian
woman named Pramlatta who seduced men and drove them mad with her hips. This
suggested to me the sound of the music I had just written for Herb's band. So I
called the song Pramlatta's Hips.”

When
asked about the woman on the album jacket, Crook said, "I think the
drawing on the cover may be of Betty [Loftin], a jazz singer from Georgia
and Herb's wife at the time. She's the Betty from Benny Golson's tune, 'Along
Came Betty.' When Pramlatta's Hips came out, everyone was very
surprised by the cover. It was totally unexpected. Some loved it, some hated
it. Sadly, Betty later died, and I remember everyone was shaken by her
passing."

Another
historic recording is The Count Basie Orchestra Live at El Morocco(under the direction of Frank
Foster). Originally released on vinyl by the Telarc label, it is now available
on CD through the Concord Music Group.

Recorded
in the “Green Room” at the El on two nights, February 20-21,
1992, the
album came out in June of that year. In addition to many of the hits from the
Basie band book including, “Corner Pocket,” “Shiny Stocking,” and “One O’Clock
Jump,” the repertoire includes a tune originally titled, “Easy As It Goes,” now
renamed “A Night at the El Morocco,” in dedication to the Worcester venue. It
was written by Melton Mutasfa, the trumpeter on the date, and like Dizzy
Gillespie’s “Groovin’ High,” it was based on the standard, “Whispering.”

According
to the liner notes, written by Don Elfman, the piece is a “tribute to the
setting and to the graciousness of the Aboody family.” Special thanks also went
out to Mary Mardirosian of WICN-FM “for her support and encouragement.”

* Note:
Saxophonist Boots Mussulli also wrote a tune for the room. It’s called “El Morocco” and can be found on his Capitol
release, Little Big Man.

Another
commercially available CD is Jim Porcella and the Jeff Holmes Big Band release,
You’ve Got That Look! with special
guest Dick Johnson Live at the El Morocco. Recorded in 1994 by Signature Sound,
the disc features a dozen tunes including two written by Porcella and the title
track by Holmes.

Saxophonist Dick Johnson on soprano

In his liner notes Fred Bouchard said:
“Man-with-a-horn-about-town Dick Johnson is a natural guest of honors (alto
spots smoke ‘Georgia’ and ‘Teach Me,’ clarinet lifts off ‘S Wonderful) for his
reed magic and bandsmanship…. A final element in this ethereal equation is the
El Morocco audience; two generations have clamored at the pointy doors
overlooking Worcester for the baba ganoosh and big band
push.”

Vocalist,
former radio programmer, and TV host, Toni Ballard captured a collection of
live performances that were recorded at variety of venues throughout the city.
They were presented on her outstanding program, "Studio 3." Three were taped at
the El Morocco. They include:

For many
years radio station WCUW 91.3 FM at 910 Main Street presented live jazz shows in Worcester.

Best known for offering cutting
edge artists such as Archie Shepp, Max Roach, and Jaki Byard at venues such as
the New England Repertory Theatre, the Worcester Artist Group, and the
planetarium at the Ecotarium, for a couple of years they produced shows at
the El as well, including: